


Boom Clap The Sound of my Cramps (Ow)

by laurel_wesley (Wes)



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Period Cramps, Periods are gross, Sweats nervously, friendship evaberrywhere, my first time writing a trans character and anything about periods, trans!Robin (ftm)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-26
Updated: 2015-04-26
Packaged: 2018-03-25 21:37:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3825922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wes/pseuds/laurel_wesley
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Robin deals with period cramps and Kaldur and Canary help out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Boom Clap The Sound of my Cramps (Ow)

**Author's Note:**

> *YOLO clicks the post button* You can only improve, right?
> 
> My first time writing about like, anything in this fic OTL First YJ, first trans character, first period fic, please give me suggestions to improve on this fic. 
> 
> I wrote this at midnight and this morning, so please forgive any typos/inconsistencies OTL What is writing???
> 
> I'm so nervous for you to read this /)\\\;\\\\\~\\\\\;\\\\(\

Robin groaned, shifting in his chair again, until he leaned over the armrest, crossing his legs uncomfortably. The moistness between his legs was growing quite uncomfortable, his pad itching at his front. Robin uncrossed and crossed his legs again, tensing the muscles in his thighs. He placed a hand against his stomach, growling to himself at the dull, throbbing ache there, and let his head sink lower into the crook of his elbow.

Being a boy and having a period was hard. It wasn't just dealing with civilian life, either. It sometimes interfered with his hero life as well. It was agonizing to be prohibited from going on missions, his cramps pushing him to the point of not moving. He wondered how Artemis did it, but he could never tell when she was on her period or not. Then again, he wasn't moody during his, and she was cranky all the time, so emotion wasn't really a way to judge.

Telling others was a little awkward as well, and some, he flat out didn't expect to understand. Once again, he didn't really trust Artemis enough yet with his little "secret," nor did he want to tell Connor or Megan. It wasn't that he didn't trust them, it was that he figured they'd find it weird and... Unnatural.

Robin shifted again, brining his legs up next to him and pressing his knees together. Unnatural. What a weird word. What a weird way to describe him, and probably the wrong word to use with them. They'd simply question it...?

"Robin?"

"Hey, Kaldur." Robin responded, pressing his lips into a thin smile. Kaldur raised an eyebrow, looked around, then stepped across the room to his friend. Footsteps light as a feather, Robin noted, shaking his head slightly. Despite the sudden flaring pain in his stomach, Robin sat up, letting his hand rest across his lap as he spread his legs to cris-cross them. Uncomfortable, but normal behavior. "What's up?"

"Canary was looking for you- You weren't at training this morning, she wanted to know if you were alright." Kaldur answered, sitting on a nearby footstool. Robin shifted slightly, a throb running from his gut to his thigh, making him bite his lip.

"I'm good." Robin responded, not entirely truthful. The second day was always the most painful for him, with the most intense cramping and heaviest flow. More often than not, said flow was heavy enough to actually put him to sleep- not that Kaldur needed to know.

Batman knew. Wally knew because of an accident. Fun times.

"Are you sure?" Kaldur asked again, leaning forward slightly. A strange scent caught his nose, salty and thick, but he didn't make mention. It was probably just him anyway, sweaty after training.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Robin answered. "Trust me."

He returned to his original position, legs crossed and arms over the armrest. Kaldur raised an eyebrow, looking up to meet Robin's eyes.

Should he say it? Should he not? Robin rarely sat with his legs crossed, if ever. The hand lightly rubbing his stomach also seemed like a dead giveaway. He'd seen Artemis do that a few times as well, and had caught the same dusty scent from her- Something was wrong. Kaldur began to stand, speaking, "You're not. Does your stomach hurt? I can get something for that-"

"No!" Robin yelped immediately, sitting up straight. Kaldur turned to him eyes wide. "I-I mean-" Robin sat back, forced himself to relax slightly.

"It's fine, Kaldur, don't worry about it. I'll go talk to BC about training later today or something. It's no big deal." He stated with a small sigh.

Kaldur turned, sat back down, met Robin's eyes again. "You can talk to me, you know? If there's something bothering you-"

"There's not. I'm alright." Robin assured, smiling. He trusted Kaldur, maybe he could spill some beans. "This is... Normal."

"Normal?" Kaldur questioned, and sat down again. He leaned forward, elbows against his knees. "How so...?"

"Like... Once a month, I guess. It's a... Girl thing." Robin muttered, suddenly feeling very self-conscious. Kaldur raised an eyebrow, as if saying, "go on...?"

"Well, surface-girl thing. Called a period, I guess? Happens once a month, involves lots of blood, pain, you know." Robin struggled to keep his voice even. Megan was good at sensing emotions, and Kaldur was empathetic enough to know at least. Robin took a breath, looked up, then looked away from those intense eyes. "You know...?"

"I can't say I do. Atlantean anatomy isn't much different than human anatomy, but I do not think women bleed regularly." Kaldur answered.

Robin nodded, flushing. "Well you don't really, uh, see the blood. I mean it comes from down..." He made a motion towards his legs, a shifting slightly again. "There. Down there. God this is so embarrassing."

"Don't be embarrassed. Isn't something like this normal? You said so yourself." Kaldur answered, eyes still trained on Robin's face. He looked up, surprised. "What...?"

"The bleeding. It's normal, right?"

"For girls..."

"But you're not a girl. Does it matter?"

"Um." Robin was suddenly at a loss for words. He juggled the possible results of saying, "society thinks it matters," with, "I don't think it does," and, "wait, you don't care that I'm on my period and I'm a guy?"

He didn't exactly mean for a mess of the three to spill out of his mouth.

"Excuse me?" Kaldur asked, reeling back, eyes wide, his mouth quirking into a smile. Robin ahemmed in an attempt to correct his verbal diarrhea, asking, "You're not weirded out or anything? That I'm on my period but I'm also a guy?"

"Why should I be? What does a specific gender have to do with having a 'period?'" Kaldur asked again. "In Atlantis, gender roles are not defined by body, but how a person defines themselves. I assumed it was the same on the surface."

"Well... Not exactly," Robin admitted, forming a fist over his mouth like he was about to cough into it. "The surface is... Not as accepting of guys having periods. It's dumb and I don't like it but-"

"Robin, society does not control you, and has no right to judge. You cannot deny yourself because of 'rules' set in place." Kaldur smiled then, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Besides, the Robin we know is a constant rule breaker anyway."

Robin looked up at Kaldur, beamed, and nodded his head. "Yeah, you're right. Who cares what other people think. I'm me and that's what matters."

"Right." Kaldur grinned, nodding. He withdrew his hand and stood again, smiling down at his friend. "I'm glad you trust me enough to tell me this."

"Yeah. But don't tell anyone else, okay? Wally already knows, but the others... I'll tell them eventually." Robin promised. His team leader nodded agreement, saying, "Take your time, this is personal to you. Now, can I get you anything, seriously?"

Robin smiled, taking a seat again. "A pain killer or four would be nice. Not feeling too whelmed right now."

* * *

Black Canary, known as Dinah Lance outside of the League, sat at a small desk in her room. She was going over training videos from earlier that day, analyzing her students' moves so she could help them make corrections in the following week. She came to M'gann's video, watching the girl's hand to hand intently.

On Mars, it didn't seem that there was much hand to hand combat, as the first fifteen minutes of her training was teaching basic kicks and punches. Canary smiled to herself, proud that M'gann leaned as quickly as she did. With a bit more training, the girl would be a good adversary in a close-combat fight.

There was a small knock at the door, making Canary look up. She paused the video, making a note to herself to brush up some footwork with M'gann, and stood. "Come in," she called out, leaning against the desk with her arms crossed.

Robin peeked into the room, looking very tiny in civilian clothes. He glanced around, then swiftly entered the room and closed the door, making Canary chuckle. "There's no one here."

"Just making sure." Robin answered, leaning against the door. He looked away from her. "Sorry for not being at practice this morning."

"It's alright, just make sure it doesn't happen again." Canary told him, stern but still smiling. She stepped forward and sat on one of the green couches, motioning for Robin to sit across from her. He did so, crossing his hands and leaning forward until his hands almost touched the ground. She glanced at him, suddenly concerned at the tenseness in his body movements. "Is everything alright, Robin?"

"Yeah, yeah, just..." He took a deep breath. "This is probably going to sound strange, but I didn't come because of period cramps. I'm not hiding anything, I really am a guy, but-"

"Your body isn't male, right?" Canary asked. Robin nodded slowly. "I understand. Does anyone else know?"

"Kaldur and Wally. But I trust them not to tell." Robin said, smiling slightly at the thought of his friends. Canary nodded at him, crossing her legs. "That's good- they're good kids."

"That is true." Robin answered, sitting up. "But anyway, I... I sometimes may not come to practice when this happens. Is that alright?"

"Of course." Canary nodded, placing a hand against her stomach. "Believe it or not, the same thing happened to me when I was younger. I used to not even go on missions sometimes."

"I hate that- I get held back from missions too," Robin confessed, looking down at the floor. "But you don't think it's strange or anything? You're not gonna punish me for not telling you or something like that?"

"No, bleeding once a month is natural. You know first hand that both men and women can have periods, it's not something to be ashamed of." Canary assured him. "Besides, it's not like you're putting the team in any jeopardy by being yourself, and something like being transgender can be a sensitive subject if you're still feeling insecure about it. I can't punish you for 'keeping secrets' when there weren't any kept in the first place. Just talk to me if you're not feeling well, alright? I can give you some suggestions to help soothe the pain."

"Thanks, BC." Robin sighed deeply, relieved. He grinned at her, standing up. He started walking out of the room, stopping at the door. "Anyway, it's late, I should sleep. If I'm not feeling well tomorrow, do you think Batman will let me take a day off from school?"

"Do you think _I'll_  let you take a day off from school?" Canary smirked, moving back to her desk. Robin frowned lightly in thought, then said, "Good point. G'night BC. See you tomorrow."

"Good night, Robin. Sleep peacefully." Canary sat back down at her desk, smiling to herself. Robin was such a good kid, she was glad he trusted her with something like his gender identity. She had her suspicions, but did her best to be respectful of him- and she was thankful that Robin told her himself.

**Author's Note:**

> Did you... Like it? I feel like basically everyone would be really supportive of him haha. Robin has good friends. 
> 
> But I also imagined a scenario where KF had to carry Robin because of cramps and that was how he found out haha. Idk anymore, I hope you enjoyed this some how /)\\\;\\\u\\\;\\\\(\?


End file.
